A beginner's guide to Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery

Why is it I always have such a hard time trying to produce even scarce amounts of jewelry and chocolate? I always build the desired amount of factories/apiaries/etc, yet my stock is constantly dwindling and I rarely have enough money to keep production running at a feasible level.

Also, can anyone help me out with conquering other islands? I can send fleets with 10 ships yet I really can't seem to get a good hold on an island before getting pushed back and defeated.

Any tips you can expand on to help out with this? Once I get these two problems sorted my colony will really explode.---"I mean, if I killed George Bush that wouldn't make portals to Iraq appear in my front yard." -Massany7 on Oblivion ¯\(O_º)/¯